Seal.



C. J. REYNOLDS.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

CHARLES J. REYNOLDS, or MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 191?.

Application filed December 9, 1916. Serial No. 135,925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to seals of the automatic catch type for use for sealing freight cars, coin boxes, scales, meters, etc, and has for its primary object to provide such a seal which cannot be unsealed without detection which insures the engagement of the catch on the shoving home of the bail to a given degree and which, by an interposed part of relatively heavy metal, prevents the pressing together of the ends of the bail so as to disengage them from the shoulders of the keeper or disk of the seal, as hereinafter more particularly described and set forth. Other objects are to reduce the cost of manufacture by making the seal of a plurality of parts, any one of which may be rejected as defective without requiring the rejection of an entire seal and to simplify the manufacture of the seal. A further object is to promutilation of the seal as a whole or at least the casing of the seal.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a view in front elevation of a seal embodying my invention, partly broken away to show the inner construction to better advantage;

Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same, partly sectioned;

Fig. 3, a detail view of the bail;

Fig. 4, a detail view of the keeper;

Fig. 5, an interior detail view of the casing;

Fig. 6, a top plan view of the casing; and

Fig. 7, a detail view of the cover plate.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, 1 designates the metal shallow cup-form casing adapted to receive .a disk-form keeper or plate 3 of substantial thickness in relation to the other elements of the seal. This plate or keeper 3 is provided with a pair of opposed slots 5 arranged at a slight interval from each other, preferably about half an inch apart, but the exact distance depending on the proportions of the seal as a whole.

The inner edges of these slots are smooth and slightly double curved, their upper ends or portions slightly converging and their lower endsor portions diverging in a greater degree. The outer edges of these slots are formed in two sections, the upper edges flaring upward and the lower section flaring downward, and being provided with shoulders 3' at the point where these two sections come together. It is desirable to have the upper sections of the outer edges of these slots flare upward, the flare however being very slight, to facilitate the insertion of the bail, but so long as the shoulders 3 are provided and have clean-cut gripping edges and so long as plenty of room is left below these shoulders 3 for the spreading of the ends of the bail, the exact outline or outlines of the lower sections of the outer portions of the slots 5 is a matter of no importance, 8X- cept in so far as the removal of too much metal might weaken the plate or keeper 3.

The bail 4, above referred to, has the general, well known staple form, is made of a relatively heavy or thick resilient metallic. wire or rod, preferably round in cross-section, and is provided in the outer face of each leg, at the same distance from the re spective ends thereof, with an upwardly presented shoulder 4', formed by cutting or notching out the material of the leg of the bail in each instance.

The shoulders 3' are presented downward and the shoulders 4 are presented upward and both sets of shoulders are formed at right angles to the adjacent faces of the keeper 3 and bail 4 respectively, so that when once engaged they cannot be pulled past each other by slipping contact or engagement.

The casing 1 is provided with openings 1, Fig. 6, which register with the slots 5 in the keeper 3 to allow the bail 4 to be inserted through the easing into said slots.

In assembling, keeper or plate 3 is placed in position in casing 1, for which it is, preferably, a snug fit, the ends of slots 5 registering with holes 1 in the casing, a flat cover plate 2 is placed over said keeper (Fig. 2) and the edge of easing 1 is then folded over plate 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus forming a closure which may not be disturbed without leaving visible evidence of the fact.

In operation, the ends of the bail 4: will be inserted through the holes 1 into slots ZOE and will be spread by the curved walls thereof until the shoulders 4; pass the downwardly presented shoulders 3", at which point the legs will spread by the resiliency of the bail as a whole, to bring the shoulders into interlocking engagement, or, if for any reason the legs of the bail fail to thus spread by the resiliency of the bail as a whole at this point, a continued insertion of the bail will bring the ends of the legs thereof into contact with the divergently curved lower portions of the oppositely curved inner walls of the slots 5 and will positively spread the ends of the legs of the bail so that the shoulders a will firmly engage the shoulders 3.

When the shoulders 4c and 3 are thus engaged the inner faces of the legs of the bail 4: will engage the inner walls of the slots 5 at points between the respective shoulders 3 and l and the holes 1; hence any attempt to compress the legs of bail -1- and thus disengage the shoulders 8 and 1" would meet with failure, as such compression of the legs is entirely prevented by the interposition of a solid piece. of metal, part of the plate or keeper 8, with which the legs of the bail l engage when in sealed or locked position.

01'' course, it is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction, combination and arrange ment of my invention, of which I have shown and described only the preferred form in this application, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. It maybe Well to say that it is essential only that at least so much of the legs of the bail as will allow the same to be inserted in the slots need be resilient and that some fixed part be positioned between the ends of the legs when thus inserted, engaging the inner faces of the latter at a point between the shoulders on the outer side of the latter and the outer ends of the slots. Also, it is essential that the shoulders 3 be mounted or formed on some part, fixed with relation to the bail, which should be non-resilient and of hard material, such as cast iron or steel.

It is essential however that the bail a be made of sufficient stifiness and of such pro- Gopies of this patent may .be obtained for five cents each, by addressin portions as to pre'vent one of the legs of the bail from being twisted or distorted in such manner as will allow it to be disengaged from its respective shoulder 3.

'Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a seal, a plate provided with shouldered slots, the inner walls of which have their outer -portionsconver-ge, in comb'ina tion with a bail having its legs resilient and provided with shoulders and adapted to be inserted in said slots, the shoulders of said legs engaging with the respective shoulders formed by said slots, and the inner Walls of said slots engaging with the respective legs when in locked position at a point between the shoulders of the respective legs and the outer ends of the respective slots. r

2. a seal, a plate provided with shouldered slots, the inner walls of which are provided with opposed dou b le curves so that the outer ends of the inner walls converge, while the lower ends thereof diverge, in combination with a resilient bail having its ends shouldered to interlock with the shoulders formed by said slots in said plate, the diverging lower portion of the inner walls of said slots being adapted to be engaged by the ends 01 the bail when inserted and to spread thesame, and the converging upper portions of the inner walls ofsa id slots allowing the legs of the bail to spread so that their shoulders will interlock with the shoulders of their respective slots while their inner faces will remain in contact with the'u-pper converging portions of the inner walls of said slots, preventing the compression of the legs to disengage the shoulders of the latter from the shoulders'formed "by said slots.

3. In a locking seal, a plate of nonresil'ient material provided with two opposed co-acti'ng edges, the upper portions of which converge while the lower portions thereof diverge, said plate being adapted to cooperate with a bail.

In testimony whereof, I have signed name to this specification.

CHARLES J. REYNOLDS.

g the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 1). .C. 

